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Article
Religious Orientation and Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors
Journal of Research on Christian Education
  • Eileen K. McMillen, Andrews University
  • Herbert W. Helm, Andrews University
  • Duane C. McBride, Andrews University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2011
Disciplines
Abstract

Religion is one of the major forces of control over sexuality, and many studies have observed an inverse relationship between religiosity and sexual permissiveness. The Religious Orientation Scale has been used to study the relationship between religious orientation and sexuality. It has been found that those with intrinsic views are more conservative in their sexual values while those who are extrinsic have more liberal views. The purpose of this study was to use the Religious Life Inventory, an instrument that also has a quest orientation, to evaluate the relationship between religious orientation and various premarital sexual activities and attitudes within a sample of conservative religious students. Inverse correlations were found for those with internal and external scores, while weak but positive correlations were found for those with quest scores. These findings suggest that those with a more open-minded position on religion may have the same open-minded position on sexuality. © Taylor & Francis Group.

DOI
10.1080/10656219.2011.590755
First Department
Behavioral Sciences
Citation Information
Eileen K. McMillen, Herbert W. Helm and Duane C. McBride. "Religious Orientation and Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors" Journal of Research on Christian Education Vol. 20 Iss. 2 (2011) p. 195 - 206
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/herbert_helm/39/